Davisra

Thank you all for the insightful comments & recommendations. Here's what ended up happening. We have one small higher-end audio dealer in town who sells Wadia, Arcam, Musical Fidelity and a few other brands. On Sat. I told hubby he needed to go this store with me to get some assistance deciding which DAC & cables to buy. I made him bring along one of his old speakers figuring the guy at the audio store could verify whether or not they were in decent enough shape to keep or if they should be replaced. As noted before, I envisioned the setup as: MacBook Pro with external iOmega Mac Companion 3T hard drive (containing the iTunes library & connected to the MacBook via firewire 800), usb cables to connect laptop to external DAC (asynchronous with ability to select upsampling/oversampling, either integrated or stand-alone). The DAC would then connect via RCA cables either to hubby's old amplifier/receiver (if we used a stand-alone DAC) or directly to hubby's speakers (if they were still good & we got an integrated DAC). Clear as mud, huh? The guy at the audio store was knowledgeable and helpful & confirmed that my thinking was correct (he even seemed alittle surprised that I had the terminology down). HOWEVER, hubby suddenly, out of the blue, said he didn't want the laptop in the mix. Computers burn out, die, etc. Computers cause trouble because they're doing too many other things at the same time. Couldn't we just connect something directly to the hard drive? Whereupon the sales guy showed him the Sonos hand-held control and it was all over. Hubby got all excited by the Sonos control (I didn't know he wanted something like that - he never looks at his current iPod to see what it's playing. I thought he could look at the laptop screen, but no...he'd have to turn around to see that - too much effort). Well, to use the Sonos, you need to connect into a network (which I'd been trying my darndest to avoid because we have enough trouble with our office network AND I assumed wireless wouldn't be as skip/blip-free as hard-wired connections). But...hubby figured he'll get our tech guru to come in, install an ethernet connection or create a new, separate network (not sure which). I told him the laptop was dedicated to music only - there's no other software on it, nothing else for it to do but sit there playing music. Nope. No good. Bottom line - hubby bought a new 3T NAS hard drive, Sonos player, Sonos hand-held controller, router and an Arcam DAC. I don't know if this DAC is what he should get, but the choice of a DAC seemed like an after-thought to hubby & the sales guy. Hubby's going to use his old speakers and his old Yamaha Natural Sound Stereo Receiver RX 830. He's NOT going to use the MacBook Pro laptop that I found used for $850 after scouring the internet for 6 weeks straight looking for the right model that had 800 firewire & Airport Extreme. He's NOT going to use the 2 iOmega 3T hard drives that I spent $400 each on. But...he IS going to spend $$ to have this new network installed at the office and $$ on a different hard drive and $$ on Sonos equipment. I am NOT a happy camper - can you tell? So...I spent several weeks delving into the computer audiophile world, trying to learn and understand enough to make good choices about the equipment and mechanics needed to get great sounding music for hubby and to hopefully not sound like a total ignoramous. How many sleepless nights worrying about whether I was making wise choices....for what? He gripes about spending money and here he disses everything I've already done to basically start over. I have to laugh, though. Now he's been doing some reading on Sonos and some of the troubles people have been having getting their iTunes library and the Sonos software to mesh correctly in terms of song identification/playlists. Hahaha. He's on his own now. He has no clue how he'll add new music to his system (no laptop and no CD reader - good luck). He thinks someone at the office can use the MacBook laptop since we're always buying new computers. Yeah right - none of our home-office provided software works on a Mac so I don't know who he thinks is going to use it. I look at it this way - I've learned something about computer audio and met some wonderful, helpful people on this web site. I've got two 3T hard drives that I'll fill with all the videos I've taken of our 2 kids through the years (once I figure out how iMovie and iDVD work). Life is still good. Special thanks to all who helped me along the way - especially Jud whose words of encouragement & compliments really brought me up when I was feeling overwhelmed by it all.

You remember typing up term papers on an old manual typewriter that weighed about 50 lbs. & how incredibly difficult it was to edit anything once the typing was done.

I'd watch the Packers every week with my dad on our old black & white TV accessorized with a rotating stand-alone TV antenna which could be pointed to either Milwaukee or Chicago. I remember that ice bowl game & Packer greats like Bart Starr, Ray Nitschke & Vince Lombardi like it was yesterday - where has all the time gone?

At $0.50/hour I had to work 2 hours to buy one single record (song). We didn't have a dryer in those days so everything (including dad's boxer shorts and hankies) had to be ironed. I used to stack up the 45s on the record player & iron to the music. I could finish 1 long-sleeved button-up dress shirt per song. "Baby I Love You" (Andy Kim), "Crystal Blue Persuasion" (Tommy James) & "Hair" (Cowsills) were my favorites.

Sorry for not responding earlier. I truly appreciate the above attempts to enlighten me on this sampling stuff, but unfortunately they left me more confused & upset with myself that I can't figure this stuff out. I had to back away for a bit. I'm still unclear how all this upsampling/oversampling, etc. can give me higher quality results coming out of my Macbook Pro than what I ripped into it. Every article I read seems to say the same thing - "you have to judge for yourself" or "it's all personal perception" or some such nonsense. Right now I'm ready to throw in the towel. I'm paralyzed with fear at making a costly mistake. It's one thing to screw up something when you have a good understanding of what you were trying to do & you made the best choice you could using the knowledge you have. Here I don't understand the rationale behind the multitude of choices so I'm like a deer in the headlights. Is there anything anywhere that will explain this stuff in basic 1st grader language? I'm sorry that my previous post caused friction between the various responders who each, in his own way, tried to help me out. Since my indecision & lack of understanding are driving me (and probably you veteran Audiophiles) crazy, I'm thinking I should just go with something that will give me the flexibility to make changes once I understand what the various possibilities are. With that in mind, which of these options would be the best for me: 1) Getting the new Halide HD DAC and attaching the usb end to the laptop and the RCA plugs into new powered speakers (Emotiva or similar). If I went this route, could I use the tiny remote that came with my iMac to control the volume/mute or do I need to add some amplifier/receiver/whatever component to the mix? 2) Getting a Wadia 121 "Decoding computer" and using it with powered speakers. The Wadia comes with a remote & it looks like this DAC will let me specify what up/over sampling I want (if any). 3) Getting a Wyred-4-Sound DAC (with powered speakers) OR the Wyred-4-Sound Mini-Int (which would power the speakers we already have or new speakers). Both of these have remotes. I'm making myself sick with worry reading all the various reviews & opinions about this or that DAC - some are musical, some aloof, some harsh, some vibrant in certain ranges only, etc. I don't know how to interpret most of these evaluations - all I want is something that will sound at least as good as the CDs hubby was able to listen to when he had his 10 CD changers in place. Any other DAC ideas are more than welcome. Hubby's CD collection is primarily JAZZ - Maynard Fergusen, Diane Schuur, Chick Corea, etc. Thanks everyone for the help & advice. Too bad my high school son is so into cars and not into stereos. Hubby would rather delegate this whole mess to someone else

I work for my husband's financial planning practice as chief number-cruncher, helping folks determine if they're "on track" to retiring the way they want to. Additionally, I look for things that could derail them from accomplishing their goal of a financially-secure future. Musically I'm a neophyte. Much of what I've read here goes over my head. The analyst in me needs lots of info, simply explained, to help me understand things. I flunked physics and even though I have a BBA in Finance (UW-Madison), I'm lousy at math & scientific theory. Many Computer Audiophile posters use acronyms & abbreviations to describe equipment, processes, etc. - so much so that I often feel like a miserably stupid failure because I'm still clueless on so many things here. Other occupations - hockey music mom for son's high school team, former drum & bugle corps mom (we've housed college kids from Japan, England, Holland, Thailand & Australia - all of whom were here in the US marching with the Madison Scouts), and dance team mom. Office football & basketball pool administrator (I love the Packers & Badgers). Favorite ice cream? Too many to name. Do Dairy Queen Birthday Cakes count? Thanks for making newbies like me feel welcome, even if I'm still clueless & ask dumb questions.

Just trying to be sure I understand this. All music was ripped from CDs to the external HD using iTunes AIFF (with error correction). This means the music sitting on the hard drive now has a resolution of 16/44, correct? If I don't have some other software (Amarra, Pure Music, etc.), then what gets sent to the DAC is 16/44, correct? Is that what the DAC will then send to the speakers, or does the DAC upgrade the data to 24/96 or higher before it sends it on to the speakers? I was under the impression you can't get higher resolution than what you originally ripped into the computer in the first place. Kind of like taking a picture with a digital camera (you can dummy down a high pixel picture but can't increase the resolution of a low pixel picture). How can the DAC or Pure Music software restore higher quality than what was on the CD (original source) to begin with? Sorry if these questions sound dumb. As I said, I'm learning as I go and am happy to have the best teachers around (Computer Audiophile Forum members!) PS - I agree with your thoughts about the old speakers; however, today we just spent $1,355 on repairs to our 2005 Mini Cooper (power steering went out) & hubby insists his old speakers are just fine. Since they aren't powered, I'm ready to buy the Wyred 4 Sound mINT. Reviews on its DAC & performance have been good, it has a remote with volume control and hopefully has enough amp. for the speakers. If the speakers sound like crap, then hubby will have to go out & find himself another pair that he likes. At least the transition of this music project to his office will finally happen!

Thanks for the suggestion about using a different way to connect iPod to the sound system. The rink's sound system is a huge box (roughly 3 ft.tall by 3 ft.wide by about 2 ft.deep) that sits on the floor under the scorer's table. They actually lock the front so that people can't mess with the equalizer & volume control knobs. I crawled under the table to move the box so I could see the back & found that it's loaded with various places to input things, along with lots of colorful switches. Being the newbie I am, I have no idea what most of them are for, but it looks like there's a place to plug in RCA plugs. Not the easiest or fastest way to get set up to play (since this sound unit weighs a ton & is tough to move), but it looks doable. Using a portable DAC (if this is possible) would certainly be easier.

Thanks for the kind comments - you made my day! Yeah, it's taken me since Christmas to rip all of those CDs. He tried getting our kids to do it (fat chance), then tried a nephew who worked at an Apple Store (who got enough done to fill an iPod 160g classic, but hubby wasn't happy with the quality). I'm guessing he would've pawned it off on our 2 cats if he could've. After 3+ years of listening to him lamenting he wishes he could play all of his music I finally decided to bite the bullet & do it myself. My doing it was his Christmas gift from me. I suppose it's my fault he ended up in this position in the first place. He used to have 10 CD changers (each holding 100 CDs) all daisy-chained together in his office. I convinced him it was time to move the collection to the iMac since he was having a hard time remembering which CD was on which changer. During the process I found a bunch of duplicates (and triplicates, too!) - probably because he couldn't remember if he had already purchased a particular CD or not. I totally agree with you about the need for a backup (I think I would die if I had to re-do the 1,200 I've already done, let alone doing 4,000 - you poor thing!). I have a 2nd Iomega 3T that's going to be the backup. You may not have seen my other post, but the laptop & 1 hard drive are going to reside in husband's office at work while the iMac & 2nd hard drive will stay at home. Since the 2 hard drives won't talk to each other, my thought was that once all the CDs were loaded and play lists created, to copy the entire hard drive over to the 2nd hard drive. After that time, both hard drives will be independent (that is, when he buys new CDs we'll have to load them twice - once at work on that hard drive and again at home on the home-based hard drive). I suppose I should copy everything over NOW just to be safe, but once I do that I'm not sure how changes I make to the home-based hard drive (since playlists haven't yet been created) can also be made to the 2nd one without recopying everything again. Is there an easier way? The AR speakers look like they're in great shape. Guess we'll have to play something on them to see. I was just thinking that if the original quality of AR was suspect, then using them now, even if they're in great shape, would sort of defeat the purpose of him listening to high quality music (he has a very discerning ear). Knowing whether or not we can use them impacts the decision on what type of DAC to buy. Also...I'm not as generous as you think. I know husband's credit card information (guess whose card gets charged for the purchases I'm making? One hint - it's NOT mine!). Hopefully he won't drop over in a dead faint when he opens the credit card bill. Thanks again for the helpful suggestions!

You folks have been so helpful with my CD project (previous postings under the DAC equipment section) I figured someone may be able to help me with this issue too. I'm the hockey music mom for my son's High School team. I bring my iPod Classic (loaded with AC/DC, Metallica, Aerosmith, etc. - you know, songs like "Enter Sandman", "300 Violin Orchestra", etc. - music to make the kids get in the mood to "hit somebody"!). The headphone out wire connects to the rink's sound system. This was where I first recognized the importance of ripping my songs in AIFF rather than the MP3 (songs imported from iTunes sound like crap on the rink's system). Even with the higher quality AIFF, many songs still sound muddled. I know we have crummy speakers which I can't do anything about, but would it make sense to get a portable DAC? Could an iPod be connected to a portable DAC which could then be connected to the rink's system? If so, would this help improve the sound quality? Thanks for the help!

Hi again I posted this at the end of my previously-entered topic but realize the new question may not be noticed so I've also posted my speaker question as a new topic. Hope this is ok. I'm done ripping CDs for now - grand total of 1,198. Couldn't manage to scrounge up 2 more to make it an even 1,200 but I'm sure hubby will find some reason to buy more! I've been driving myself nuts trying to decide the next step. I've got the external hard drive (Iomega 3T Mac Companion) which will be connected via Firewire 800 to a mid-2009 Macbook Pro. Now I just need to determine how to play the music. Thanks to previous responders I have the decision narrowed down to: 1) buy a dedicated DAC (asynchronous usb) that would be paired with powered speakers. The speakers I'm looking at are Emotiva Pro Airmotiv 4 or 5 which I would pair with either the Peachtree DAC iT, Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2, or Cambridge DAC Magic Plus (any thoughts which is better?). A key consideration is the availability of a remote control so hubby can adjust the volume/mute the music as needed. The lack of a remote has unfortunately ruled out other deserving DAC candidates. I recognize the cost of the three I've narrowed it down to is vastly different ($1,500 vs. $600 vs. $449). If the Wyred 4 Sound is really really better & would be his best bet going forward, then I'd figure out a way to make it work. 2) buy the Wyred 4 Sound MinT (DAC with integrated amp) which I would pair with speakers hubby already owns. The other option is to wait until either the Audiolab M-DAC or the Peachtree Audio Decco65 become available. Hence the question - are the speakers he owns good ones? They're old, but I figure there may be some audiophiles out there who own or have owned this particular brand which unfortunately is no longer being made. It is "Acoustic Research Holographic Imaging M1". I did a "google" search on them and couldn't find much other than that they're relics. Anybody out there own these? If so, should I pair them with a new DAC amp or am I better off relegating them to the basement workout room & getting hubby new Emotiva powered speakers? As before, thanks for the helpful comments & ideas. They have all helped lead me to where I feel I can see light at the end of the tunnel!

Hello Don't know if you remember me, but I'm the one ripping husband's huge CD collection. I'm on #1,126 at the moment & the end is finally in sight! Background: The entire iTunes library resides on an external hard drive (3T Iomega Mac Companion), connected to a MacBook Pro via firewire 800. Thanks to previous responders I learned I couldn't just connect an iPod classic to the hard drive & expect it to work (darn). Shows what a "newbie" I really am. A Mac Mini was suggested, but it seemed I'd need too many peripherals (monitor, keyboard, CD superdrive, etc.) to make that work - after all, husband does need to SEE what the heck is on the hard drive, doesn't he? I must be really stupid but I fail to see how others can use the Mac Mini. Our family doesn't have iPads, iPod Touches, or iPhones. So...I found a used mid-2009 MacBook Pro which will be dedicated solely to husband's music & he'll be using iTunes. The entire CD collection was ripped using AIFF encoding since hubby has a discerning ear. He's currently listening to a 160g iPod Classic with Bose Soundtrack - I can hear the groans now - so I figure whatever I get him next will be better than what he has now. * Was my impression about the Mac Mini correct? Okay, now that almost all of the CDs are ripped, the next step is to copy the entire external hard drive to an additional 3T Iomega - that way one hard drive can remain at home attached to my iMac while the other one goes to the office attached to the Macbook Pro. This also gives us a backup hard drive since I don't want to rip everything again. Current Problem: What's next? I need something that I can connect to the laptop so that husband can listen to his music. The setting is his work office (roughly 14' x 14'). He can't use earphones because he's in face-to-face meetings most of the day. He needs a way to easily control the volume/mute the music without having to get up from his chair. We do NOT want to connect the Macbook Pro to our office network since we have enough trouble already with how the network performs & synchronizes with 2 other office locations (each 50 miles away). Ideally I'd like to connect the laptop to a single unit (DAC with integrated amplifier), to which I could then connect some bookshelf-sized speakers. The DAC w/amp & speakers will reside on top of a large wooden cabinet (about 5 feet tall x 8 ft.long). We already have an electric outlet up there. Macbook Pro & external HD will reside on a small table next to this cabinet. Total distance from Macbook's location on the table up to the top of the tall cabinet is about 10 ft. I've been reading about asynchronous usb connections which are supposedly better than what the industry has previously used. I also read that you can't get better quality than what you already have on your hard drive. * If this is the case, what is the advantage to getting a DAC that gives upsampling of 24/96 or 24/192 if what I get will never be better than the AIFF figure (16-bit/44.1 kHz) that the CDs were ripped at? What am I missing here? * Assuming the asynchronous 24/96 or 24/192 makes sense, what DAC (with integrated amplifier and remote) would you recommend? * Any recommendations on speakers? Keep in mind we don't need building-shaking base. * Does it make sense to do a wireless connection between the Macbook & the DAC unit or will that degrade the data transfer between the two? I'm most concerned with making sure any blips, skips, etc. are minimized because husband is picky & doesn't want to deal with system troubles. Neither do I since I'm not an audio engineer. I'd like to keep the cost of a new DAC to $1,200 or so since I'll also have to spring some $ for speakers (is $500 enough?) and I have one kid in college & another at a private high school (sadly, money doesn't grow on trees). DACs that look interesting include Peachtree Decco 65, Wired-4-Sound 2, and possibly the AudioLab M-DAC. I looked at the Peachtree Nova, but it doesn't appear to have the asynchronous usb feature that everyone is recommending. The Peachtree DAC-iT doesn't appear to include amplification. * I don't think you can just connect speakers directly to a DAC-iT, can you? * If I chose a DAC with integrated amp that didn't also have a remote, could I just buy a universal remote? Thank you for whatever suggestions & recommendations you have - l truly appreciate the positive support people using this forum have towards audio computer illiterates (and forum users) such as me. Making explanations easy to understand (with enough detail) really helps, even if there's more verbiage than many people like. My husband is getting really anxious to have the new system in place soon. I'm getting anxious too - I'm really, really sick of messing with these stupid CDs and agonizing over what equipment makes the most sense for our situation. PS - husband even gleefully asked if I'd be willing to add his jumbo collection of old LP albums to iTunes using the Ion LP ripping turntable he bought me for Christmas, but that's a whole separate can of worms. I was ready to slug him! PPS - thank you DigiPete for the helpful hints.

Hello Don't know if you remember me, but I'm the one ripping husband's huge CD collection. I'm on #1,126 at the moment & the end is finally in sight! A quick reminder: The entire iTunes library resides on an external hard drive (3T Iomega Mac Companion), connected to a MacBook Pro via firewire 800. Thanks to previous responders I learned I couldn't just connect an iPod classic to the hard drive & expect it to work (darn). Shows what a "newbie" I really am. A Mac Mini was suggested, but I found I'd need too many peripherals (monitor, CD superdrive, etc.) to make that work - after all, husband does need to SEE what the heck is on the hard drive, doesn't he? I must be really stupid but I fail to see how others can use the Mac Mini. Our family doesn't have iPads, iPod Touches, or iPhones. So...I found a used mid-2009 MacBook Pro which will be dedicated solely to husband's music & he'll be using iTunes. Entire CD collection was ripped using AIFF encoding since hubby has a discerning ear. He's currently listening to an iPod Classic with Bose Soundtrack - I can hear the groans now - so I figure whatever I get him next will be better than what he has now. Now Okay, now that almost all of the CDs are ripped, what's next? I need something that I can connect to the laptop so that husband can listen to his music. The setting is his work office (roughly 14' x 14'). He can't use earphones because he's in face-to-face meetings most of the day. He needs a way to easily control the volume/mute the music without having to get up from his chair. We do NOT want to connect the Macbook Pro to our office network since we have enough trouble already with how the network performs & synchronizes with 2 other offices. Ideally I'd like to connect the laptop to a single unit (DAC with integrated amplifier), to which I could connect some bookshelf-sized speakers. I've been reading about asynchronous usb connections which are supposedly better than what's been used previously. I also read that you can't get better quality than what you already have on your hard drive. If this is the case, then what is the advantage to getting a DAC that gives upsampling of 24/96 or 24/192 if what I get will never be better than the AIFF figure that the CDs were ripped at? What am I missing here? Assuming the asynchronous 24/96 or 24/192 makes sense, what DAC (with integrated amplifier and remote) would you recommend? I'd like to keep the cost to $1,200 or so since I'll also have to spring some $ for speakers and I have one kid in college & another at a private high school (sadly, money doesn't grow on trees). DACs that look interesting include Peachtree Decco 65, Wired-4-Sound 2, and possibly the AudioLab M-DAC. I looked at the Peachtree Nova, but it doesn't appear to have the asynchronous usb feature that everyone is recommending. The DAC-iT doesn't appear to include amplification - I don't think you can just connect speakers directly to this unit, can you? Sorry this post is long. I'm not sure that this is the right place for my questions. I like the idea of the CARS list, as well as your thought to make explanations easy enough for an audio computer illiterate like me to understand. Thanks for all help & recommendations - husband is getting really anxious to have the new system in place soon. I'm getting anxious too - I'm really really sick of messing with these stupid CDs and agonizing over what equipment makes the most sense for our situation!

Thanks - I'll check those out. I didn't know there were high resolution downloadable options out there. I'll probably have to put husband on an allowance though - he's apt to go crazy like a kid in a candy store!

Thanks Eloise! Darn, thought it was an easy solution, but I guess you're right. I have 3 very old LPs made of our high school orchestra (1972-1973) as well as a few old tape cassette recordings (also of 1972-1973 high school band concerts) that I can hopefully use the Ion for. The rest...o well, they make good frisbees!